IngentaConnect Selenium and vitamin status in the AlKharj district, Saudi Arabia

Abstract:

Purpose. To determine the status of selenium, dl‐α‐tocopherol and all‐ trans ‐retinol in children and adults living in the Al‐Kharj district, using serum and toenail samples. Design. A cross‐sectional study. The samples were collected randomly from 1255 healthy Saudi subjects attending the Primary Health Care Units (PHCUs), Al‐Kharj for different common health problems. Materials and methods. Serum and toenail selenium concentrations were measured using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer coupled with an electrothermal temperature controller, whereas the levels of dl‐α‐tocopherol, all‐ trans ‐retinol and malondialdehyde in serum were determined using high‐performance liquid chromatography. Results. The arithmetic means of selenium, dl‐α‐tocopherol and all‐ trans ‐retinol in serum for the tested population were 102.165±22.936 µg l −1 ( n = 1255, range 18.25-210.12 µg l −1 ), 22.715±6.908 µmol l −1 ( n = 1250, range 2.53-79.44 µmol l −1 ) and 1.601±0.802 µmol l −1 ( n = 1256, range 0.39-13.99 µmol l −1 ), respectively. Toenail selenium levels were 0.613±0.217 µg g −1 ( n = 1069, range <detection limit-1.797 µg g −1 ). Conclusions. The prevalence of subjects with serum selenium below the threshold limit of clinical importance in coronary and cardiovascular diseases (45 µg l −1 ) was only 0.56%, whereas 45.4% of the tested subjects had toenail selenium <0.56 µg g −1 , a low level, as indicated in a previous study. There was an influence of the geographical location of the PHCU on selenium levels, reflecting different dietary habits. To confirm this finding, it would be useful to study selenium dietary intake. dl‐α‐tocopherol deficiency (<11.6 µmol l −1 ) was found in only 2.6% of the screened subjects, suggesting sufficient vitamin E intake. However, none of the participants in this study had a severe all‐ trans ‐retinol deficiency (<0.35 µmol l −1 ) and the percentage of participants with marginal deficiency <0.7 µmol l −1 was only 3.2%. The present data provide support that the dietary habits among the different PHCUs studied are adequate regarding all‐ trans ‐retinol nutritional requirements. Malondialdehyde as a marker of lipid peroxidation was evaluated and a significant negative association between dl‐α‐tocopherol and malondialdehyde levels in the serum was found, confirming the role of vitamin E in reducing oxidative stress.

Keywords: Selenium; dl‐α‐tocopherol; all‐ trans ‐retinol; malondialdehyde; toenail; serum; Saudi Arabia

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/13590840600761587

Affiliations: 1: Biological & Medical Research Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2: Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Scientific Computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 3: King Khalid Hospital, Al‐Kharj, Saudi Arabia

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Selenium and vitamin status in the Al‐Kharj district, Saudi Arabia